Peter Som / Spring 2013 RTW

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“I titled it ‘Woman on the Verge’,”Peter Som said backstage after his show. A fitting name for a run that saw Hailee Steinfeld and Allison Williams in the front row. You could say that they’re good representatives of Som’s prime clientele: young ones in their teens or 20s finding their footing in both fashion and life, in search of pretty party dresses and polished, embellished day looks to wear along the way. So it’s a surprise that one of Som’s inspirations for spring was Brooke Astor (think gold brocade). Consider that his other inspiration was Courtney Love. The designer was going for “elegant but unraveled. The classic East Village girl, putting on her own makeup.” (And perhaps dyeing her own hair; see the models’ fluorescent streaks).

Pullovers and ruched-skirt shirtdresses had sharp collars. Layering cardigans over had a preppy effect. And there were bustiers scattered throughout. Som continued his leopard-print brocades from resort. For evening, a silk crepe floral plaid T-shirt (Som’s take on Love’s grunge days) and floor-length skirt were especially lovely and even teetering on boho. Another nineties idea: wide-leg, to-the-knee denim floral shorts—in collaboration with Earnest Sewn—taken from hip-hop looks of the period.

It’s just a tad bit hard to agree when Som says there’s something for everyone here, pointing out that “it’s still the classic silhouette, but it’s the treatment and how we played with it.” Though a chevron-ish shift, blouson-sleeved button-ups, and a full-length hibiscus-print night look (is that you, Brooke?), could work for a woman in her 30s and up, the collection mostly caters to that girl on the verge of, not one fully in womanhood. But that’s a clientele Som has made very happy for years and, once again, they won’t be let down.